Search for me is drill down ... a few simple words can get me close to what I want, so I don't need to get sophisticated ... but if what I am seeing is too broad, then I add to the words.

A potential problem is that as you add words, you also get hits based just on those words, when what you want is a hit that has both those words (AND not OR) although sequence not matter & also Ok if other words in between.

I use the ADVANCED option occasionally. Instead of convoluted search string, I use their menu to focus my search, let their software come up with the AND formula.

I use ALTERNATIVE search engines to Google occasionally.
Google is aimed at a generic audience.

There are search engines just for business, manufacturing, many specialized topics. Most do not have Google sophistication.

posted 7 months ago

Hey Donato,

This is an interesting question. I am afraid my answer may not be what you are looking for. It's not high level philosophy though; it is how I do searches productively. I also *do* mention some strings below.

My approach to searching is to get going with "some" string(s) and then keep adding words with a minus in front that show up in non-resumes in my results. I may start with new strings several times: once with, say,
" intitle:resume | inurl:resume" plus keywords, another time use ext:PDF, yet another time just include the word "resume" or even "~resume" in the string. If the set of skills is very unique, I may not use the word resume at all, to start with. I go through narrowing down the results (or maybe expanding the set of results) in each "round", collect useful, relevant information (resumes) and start over till I've collected "enough".
(I typically do not use the words "education", "skills", "objective" as keywords; somehow that doesn't seem helpful. )
*If* I see "job" and "jobs" in the results I add -job -jobs to my string, etc. I do not have a hard rule or a predefined string like "-eoe -apply -submit" etc. etc.
I move through results and variations pretty quickly. I may run into a site that has many resumes for my particular opening and will X-ray it in that case. Since I often use Diver, I can look at the list of the URLs and figure out if there are site(s) that would be good to X-ray. Or, I may use -site:URL if the whole site is irrelevant. Looking at the results in Diver also helps me modify strings in the right direction (that's when I see resumes that are not a match and get an idea for additional or different keywords).

I prefer not to teach hard rules in my webinars either. Cheatsheets may often be confusing. It helps to understand how strings work and be able to customize them.

I understand you are looking for a metrics though. :) It might be helpful to run several concrete examples (starting with job descriptions), "log" the searches and see what comes up. I am happy to participate.

I've posted a link to your discussion on the Boolean Strings Network.

Cheers,
Irina

Links:

• http://booleanstrings.ning.com/forum/topics/best-google-resume-search
• http://booleanstrings.wordpress.com/

posted 7 months ago

some sample string I used while searching for public accountant resumes

(objective OR summary OR education OR skills OR references) ("Certified Public Accountant" intitle:resume inurl:resume

This search string got me a lot of sample resumes online, to eliminate them from the search, I used keywords like templates and tips to keep out results like websites explaining how to write resumes. The refined search string is given below:

"Certified Public Accountant" intitle resume (phone OR email) -submit -openings -template -tips -submission -samples -examples -wizard

I eliminate online jobs with the same job title by using keywords like jobs, apply and submit. Example given below:

("Equities Business Analyst" OR "Derivatives Business Analyst") inurl:resume (references OR objective OR summary) -jobs - apply - submit

other "screen out" terms I commonly use :

example
careers
paste
post
preferred
send
your
benefits
request
free
recruit
order
reply
search
recruiter
jobs
tips
wizard

posted 7 months ago

Hey Donato,

2 part answer. You probably won't like the first, you might like the 2nd.

1. I have to agree with pretty much everything Irina said. I think having a baseline string is ok if you're new to internet resume search. However, as you know, to get more advanced, string building is an iterative process. I instead focus on some simple rules for string building, because depending on a particular background I'm looking for, the string may be somewhat different, but the principles are the same.

1. start with any of the following (not a comprehensive list, just starting points)
- ~cv
- (inurl:resume OR intitle:resume)
- (filetype:doc | filetype:pdf | filetype:html) *or other extensions yes no mention of resume here, instead using the extensions to eliminate job related docs.

2. add the most unique term from the background you are seeking. This alone does a lot of the filtering for you, and eliminates the need for too many negations. Can be negation by inclusion if you will.

3. make only one modification at a time. Hit 'search' between each change to understand effects.

4. Look at your results as you go to tell you what to negate if your results are still impure
- always look at URL structure and terms
- always look for common sites, or terms amongst the good results, use those to focus further

5. rinse, repeat.

I know you didn't want a tutorial, but I think you have to go beyond cookie cutter to get good results. baseline strings are by their nature, cookie cutter.. and should always be broken apart by the user to get real understanding, and real results. Baseline strings are just a start.

2. I can reasonably infer that what you are looking for (beyond the strings you are requesting) is a list of negations to provide a custom search engine. This would have some features to it, that are not available within a search string one might manually enter. First and most obvious is the keyword limit issue. Second is more aesthetic, so many negations in a string make it confusing to look at and modify in a meaningful way. In a CSE, you wouldn't have the visual confusion of all those terms and negations.

I would also say, you should ask Mike Notaro. He put together a Google CSE to win sourcecon the first year as I'm sure you're probably aware. He had a list of about 45 negations that he used. For your purpose, that would probably be a good answer.

Cheers,

Josh

posted 7 months ago

A few that have worked for me:
•intitle:resume|inurl:resume (ext:pdf | ext:doc | ext:rtf) developer ~java (ejb AND jsp AND ".net") -you -eoe -submit -sample -dice -jobs -careers –apply

•intitle:resume|inurl:resume (EDS OR hewitt) ~java (oracle AND peoplesoft) -you -eoe -submit -sample -dice -jobs -careers –apply

intitle:resume|inurl:resume ("data center" OR "critical facility") "electrical engineer" -you -eoe -submit -sample -dice -jobs -careers –apply

Thanks to all for your thoughts and ideas/suggestions.

posted 7 months ago